Nokia divests MetaCarta three months after acquisition

Three months after acquiring location-based solutions firm MetaCarta, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) announced it has now divested the unit to data enhancement, management and analytics solutions provider Qbase Holdings. Financial terms were not disclosed. In a brief statement, Nokia said it will retain MetaCarta's geographic intelligence software, which it plans to integrate into its local search tools and related services. Nokia announced the deal to purchase MetaCarta in mid-April--terms of that deal remain unknown.

Location services represent an increasingly prominent component of Nokia's corporate identity as the company shifts away from its core handset business. "Apps are going to be more central to Nokia's conversation," said Forum Nokia and Developer Community Vice President Purnima Kochikar in a recent interview with Bloomberg News. "It's no longer about selling devices." Early this year, Nokia introduced a new version of Ovi Maps including free walk and drive navigation tools--within a month, Ovi Maps averaged more than one download per second, 24 hours a day, translating to more than 10 million downloads by May 2010.

For more on the Nokia/MetaCarta deal:
- read this release

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